Download Renaissance and Reformation Chapter 15 Section 1

Renaissance and Reformation
Chapter 15 Section 1
Key Terms and People
Renaissance ________________________________________________________________
secular _____________________________________________________________________
humanism ___________________________________________________________________
Baldassare Castiglione ________________________________________________________
Niccolò Machiavelli ___________________________________________________________
Lorenzo de Medici ____________________________________________________________
Leonardo da Vinci_____________________________________________________________
Raphael _____________________________________________________________________
Michelangelo Buonarotti _______________________________________________________
THE BEGINNING OF THE RENAISSANCE
In the 1300s, so many people died of the Black Death, starvation, and warfare that the
population declined. Farmers produced so much food that food prices dropped, giving people
more money to spend on other things. Various areas of Europe began to specialize in the
products that were best suited to their environment, and regional trade increased.
In what is now Italy, several large city-states grew in the north, while the south was made
up of several kingdoms and the Papal States. The south was mostly rural. The northern cities of
Venice, Milan, and Florence became centers for commerce. The church, nobles, artisans, and
merchants dominated society. Venice, which had access to the sea, built its economy on
shipbuilding and trading with ports as far as the Near East and Egypt. Milan’s economy was built
on agriculture, silk, and weapons, while Florence became famous for banking and for cloth.
Why did the price of food drop? ________________________________________________
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How did this affect people? ____________________________________________________
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RENAISSANCE IDEAS
As the economy and society changed, new ideas began to appear, and interest in the
arts, literature, science, and learning returned and grew stronger. We call this era in history the
Renaissance, French for “rebirth.” The Renaissance first arose in Italy, thanks to its cities, trade,
and wealthy merchants.
People began looking to the past for inspiration. They admired the artifacts from ancient
Greek and Roman culture. They also became interested in the ideas of the ancient world, which
they rediscovered by reading Latin and Arabic texts. These works inspired further advances in
science, art and philosophy.
Although religion was still extremely important in European life, the Renaissance
movement was more secular, that is, focused on this world. A movement called humanism
developed. This emphasized the achievements of individuals rather than focusing on glorifying
God. Many historians date the beginning of the Renaissance to the works of writers Giovanni
Boccaccio and Francesco Petrarch. They both wrote in the everyday language of the people
instead of Latin.
Some humanists focused on society. Baldassare Castiglione, (cah-steel-YOH-nay) an
Italian aristocrat, wrote a book describing how the perfect Renaissance man or woman should
behave. Another Italian, Niccolo Machiavelli, was inspired by the political violence of his times to
write The Prince. It advises rulers to do whatever is necessary to keep in power.
Scientists like Galileo Galilei and Nicholas Copernicus suggested that the Earth was not
the center of the universe, which conflicted with the view of the church. Galileo was arrested for
expressing his views.
Why do you think this era is known as a “rebirth”? ________________________________
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Why do you think it was important that Bocaccio and Petrarch did not write in Latin?
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Do you think Machiavelli’s advice about politics is controversial? Why or why not?
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RENAISSANCE ART
The artwork of the Renaissance showed new levels of expertise, and much of this works
is still greatly admired. During this period, wealthy people became patrons of the arts and used
art as status symbols. In Florence, the ruling Medici family and especially Lorenzo de Medici
gave artists, intellectuals, and musicians huge sums of money for their works.
Leonardo da Vinci achieved greatness in many areas, among them painting, engineering,
science, and architecture. Two of his paintings became extremely famous, Mona Lisa and The
Last Supper. He also came up with ideas for a flying machine, a tank, and a machine gun.
Among other things, he designed and built canals and a machine to cut threads in screws.
During this period, artists wanted to paint the real world as realistically as possible. They
began to use perspective, a technique for representing threedimensional objects on flat
surfaces. Their artwork looked very different from that of the Middle Ages. A painter and
architect still admired today is Raphael. He painted both religious and classical subjects.
Michelangelo Buonarotti was an accomplished sculptor who was able to make very
lifelike human statues. His statue David is still unsurpassed. He also painted the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel in Rome, and created many other masterpieces in painting, sculpture, and
architecture.
As in other areas, Renaissance building design reflected the renewed love of ancient
Greek and Roman ideas. The most famous architect was Donato Bramante, who designed St.
Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Underline examples of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, engineering, science, and
architecture in the passage.
What was a goal many Renaissance painters and sculptors shared? _________________
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